A Bronx man who was killed trying to flee cops on a dirt bike was a building super who looked out for neighborhood kids and encouraged them to stay out of trouble, his family said today.
Eddie Fernandez, 28, was pronounced dead after his dirt bike was accidentally rammed from behind by a cop car in Hunts Point around noon Saturday, law-enforcement sources said.
His neighbor and longtime pal, Adalberto “Adam” Gonzalez — who was on the back of the bike and urging him to flee cops at the time — suffered only minor scrapes and was taken into custody.
“[Eddie] tried to teach kids to stay out of trouble with carpentry and painting. He was just learning to ride that bike. He was a good kid, it’s a terrible accident,’’ said his grieving cousin, Jose Lopez, 36.
Fernandez and Gonzalez had just purchased their Honda dirt bikes less than two months ago and were still learning how to ride, friends said.
On Saturday afternoon, cops first noticed that Gonzalez had been riding his own bike the wrong direction down a one-way street but did not pursue him, possibly because of the dangers of chasing someone on that kind of bike, sources said. He did not have a helmet or license, they said.
A few minutes later, the cops spotted Gonzalez on his bike again, and as they approached him on foot, he hopped off and ran to a dirt bike that Fernandez was on, yelling, “Move! Move! Police is comin’!”
Fernandez drove off with Gonzalez on his bike. He also didn’t have a helmet or license.
Less than a block away, the pursuing patrol car struck them, slamming the duo down onto the pavement, according to law-enforcement sources.
The impact killed Fernandez, witnesses said.